DWP state pension action demanded as vulnerable elderly people lose £1.3m a day | Personal Finance | Finance

More than £2 billion has been stolen from pensioners by fraudsters since 2020, it has been revealed.

The figure equates to an average of more than £1.3 million a day with more than 250,000 cases officially recorded.

The figures, obtained by the Liberal Democrats, are likely to be the tip of the iceberg as many crimes go unreported.

Last year, London’s Metropolitan Police reported the highest number of cases, more than 6,000, followed by Sussex with 2,500.

In total, there were 61,486 reports last year – with losses reaching £511 million – equivalent to more than £1.4 million daily in 2023.

The data was derived from analysis of crime reports by Action Fraud – the national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.

The Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: “It’s time for the Government to finally bring forward a serious plan to tackle fraud – starting with an Online Crime Agency to get a grip on the problem of online fraud, once and for all.

“It’s disgraceful that fraudsters have been allowed to target vulnerable pensioners while Conservative ministers watch idly by.

“As our nation’s elderly lose more than a million pounds to cruel scammers every single day, the price of Conservative inaction is unacceptable.”

According to the Pensions Management Institute the most prominent form of fraud in the UK is investment fraud which has stolen £2.6billion since the start of 2020.

This breaks down to 98,525 victims, £13million being stolen weekly and an average of £26,773 stolen from the typical victim.

Other common types of fraud include Boiler Room fraud, stealing around £553million in the three-year timeframe, and ponzi or pyramid schemes which have stolen £499million in the same perion.